Tennessee’s magical season came to an end Tuesday as the Vols fell to Texas in game two of the College World Series.
Tennessee 4 9 1
Texas 8 7 0
Notes
Hitting, especially with runners in-scoring position, let Tennessee down against Virginia but it was the pitching and fielding that let the Vols down against Texas.
Blade Tidwell hadn’t had a bad outing since Texas A&M in April before today but the freshman’s velocity was slightly down and he struggled with command, walking the leadoff runner in the second and third inning. Tidwell’s final line was three innings pitched, two hits, four runs, three earned runs and two walks while striking out three.
For the first time all season, Sean Hunley struggled for the second straight outing. The senior just didn’t have it in either College World Series appearance and couldn’t make it out of his lone inning, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. Hunley entered the game with just 11 walks on the season.
The moment of the game came with two outs in the fourth inning. Sean Hunley had Silas Ardoin down 1-2 and was a strike away from stranding the go-ahead run on third. Tennessee fans were on its feet and it would have been a massive momentum swing after Ross Kivett’s ejection fired up the fans. Instead, Ardoin singled and Mitchell Daly came home all the way from first base. Upon review, Daly was out but the call on the field was upheld and the next batter singled to bring another run home, extending Texas’ lead to 7-4.
From there, Tennessee never threatened again as Texas reliever Tanner Witt allowed just three baserunners in 5.2 scoreless innings while striking out two. For the first time all season, Tennessee just didn’t have anything left in the tank to pull off a comeback.
So now some big picture thoughts. I’ll never blame any fan for being mad at a bad performance– and the Vols had a bad performance this week— but this season is still without a shadow of a doubt an overwhelming success. No one remembers the 2005 team went 0-2 in Omaha and there’s very little difference between 0-2 and 1-2 in the long term.
What happens with Vitello? It’s hard to say, he said he hasn’t been in any direct contact with LSU but you have to listen when that job comes. I think Tennessee is going to make a serious financial commitment to renovating Lindsey Nelson Stadium and will give Vitello a huge raise. Is that enough to keep him away from one of baseball’s best jobs and one that will likely pay him more than UT? I can’t say but time will tell. I think things move pretty quickly either way.
And finally, thank you all for joining the ride. This season was incredibly special— most importantly because of the team— but also because of you all. Everyone bought into the team and the support you gave Ben and I’s coverage all season is so appreciated. It was a heck of a ride and it’ll be a very tough season to top in terms of covering.
Jordan Beck’s walk off against ETSU, Liam Spence’s home run to open SEC play in Athens, a pair of Evan Russell three home run games against the Tigers and ‘Dores, Max Ferguson’s three-run walk off against Arkansas, Sean Hunley’s three straight strikeouts to strand the tying run on second and clinch the SEC East in Columbia and a Drew Gilbert long ball that still hasn’t landed against Wright State. What a ride.
Quotes
Tony Vitello’s opening statement
“Congrats to Texas. Their guys showed up and wanted to win the game, as did ours. And they were able to get the job done today. More importantly, for me, thank you to Vol fans. The Vol Walk on Saturday is pretty impressive. It's a tradition that's gone on for a long time. But these kids somehow inspired the Vol Walk for baseball to be created. And it's a pretty incredible sight and emotional thing. So, thank you to those people, but also the people that just helped boost up our program into being an Omaha-type program. We hope to be that for multiple years, not just this year. So can't make any promises but obviously we'd like to do better next time. But don't want to have our kids to have any sort of guilt. They're good kids. You've got a guy apologizing and I'm apologizing to them, and I think that's what makes a good team is when you have each other's back and you want to see the guy next to you succeed more than you want it for yourself. And a disappointing day. Probably a lot of social media stuff can make these guys seem like they want to be the bad boys. But they're just a bunch of kids that want to win for each other. And some guys that, off the field, you take that jersey off, they're pretty soft, and they're pretty good kids. But when they throw it on, they do everything they can to win for Tennessee and to win for each other. And I'm honored to have been around them for 50 wins and obviously one loss too many. Thank you.”
Vitello on what he saw on the play at the plate in the fourth inning and how he felt his team responded
“Well, I thought it was a really clean relay. Jordan Beck got over there in a hurry. Got it to our infielders. They make a clean throw. Pav makes a clean tag. So you kind of anticipated the thing being an out. Unfortunately, we've got replay in the dugout, and I think you're better off as a team or coaches not seeing that stuff when they throw it up on the scoreboard or in the corner. But obviously it's one more run. I don't have a scale to weigh how much of a punch in the gut that was to our guys or how much of a detriment that was, other than just what was on the scoreboard. But 5-4 is different than 6-4.”
Vitello on what this team meant to him
“And then as far as what I would remember with these guys, that's a tough thing to point out one deal, other than as a coach you're always trying to learn. And I learned a ton from the group on just how to get things done, how to act, how to respond in certain situations.And then you know -gets choked up- there's a meme for all the people that don't like us, can't see any tears yet, but was locked up in that condo for a long time, man, a long time. And then we had to watch these guys hit BP on the field by themselves, play catch, couldn't do anything. And then you got to be around them for a whole year. And it was a pleasure cruise. As much as you get angry at certain things or you gotta go to COVID testing and stuff like that, it was a good time, it was a really good time to be around those guys. And they created something. So you get handed the baton. You run with it. That's one thing and kudos to all those people that have done that, but these kids literally invented things. And they did it in a really fun fashion.”
Vitello on what he saw from Blade Tidwell and Sean Hunley
“I think Blade was throwing the ball all right. They were on him for whatever reason. I think he was getting frustrated about certain things. And then a third thing was there was just a handful of pitches where he didn't have the conviction that I've seen out of him in the past few weeks. That was just kind of my read. And we felt good about the fact that it was a start to a new game. And the whole goal was again to get somebody out there to hit the mitt. And I think in both situations the big thing was we were one pitch away from getting out of two innings that a lot of damage was done. And we threw it over the plate, which is what got us here. They were able to put a couple of good swings on balls.”
Vitello on if he’s been in contact with LSU and if he’ll be the head coach at Tennessee next year
“No I've not, had zero. And I just made an idiot out of myself at least for all the masculine folks watching, by getting teary-eyed about these kids. That's where my focus has been. Like I said, the social life hasn't been existent for quite some time well before our opening-day game. Part of that is I want to do as good of a job for the school that gave me a chance. And I want to do as good of a job for a group that we thought could go pretty far. And the way the season evolved, like I said, the emotion's certainly not fake, I don't know if it's embarrassing or not, but it's coming from a place that's my number one concern is these guys. And I'll go back to the room and anyone who knows me, it will be bad how much I critique myself and it hurts. So I'm certainly not going to waste energy before a game or any other game having regrets that my mind wasn't right or we weren't prepared the right way to go into whatever game it might be.”
Derkay on what his lasting memory of this team and season will be
“I mean, I love each and every one of these guys. To think when the season got canceled last year, I thought maybe it was all over. And just to kind of get that I guess second chance to do it all over again, especially with this group of guys, was just -- it was unbelievable. Kind of brings a little tear to my eye. I'm trying to do my best right now. But it just meant the world to me. And I will remember this season for the rest of my life. To do something that this program hasn't done in 16 years or -- yeah -- 16 years, to get back here, and ever since I stepped on this campus I said I wanted to change the culture here. And with Luke, Redmond and Will, that was just something that was on our mind. I'd say the lasting thing is we did that and Tennessee baseball is back. With these coaches and players coming back, I know this place is in a really good spot.”
Derkay on what the feeling in the dugout was after the play at home wasn’t overturned
“It was still pretty early in the game. I wouldn't say it was just kind of like, okay, because one thing Coach Vitello has always told us with these reviews, it can go one way or the other. Whatever they tell us, out or safe, that's what we have to roll with. That's what we were going off of at that moment in time. And, yeah, that was it.”
Tennessee 4 9 1
Texas 8 7 0
Notes
Hitting, especially with runners in-scoring position, let Tennessee down against Virginia but it was the pitching and fielding that let the Vols down against Texas.
Blade Tidwell hadn’t had a bad outing since Texas A&M in April before today but the freshman’s velocity was slightly down and he struggled with command, walking the leadoff runner in the second and third inning. Tidwell’s final line was three innings pitched, two hits, four runs, three earned runs and two walks while striking out three.
For the first time all season, Sean Hunley struggled for the second straight outing. The senior just didn’t have it in either College World Series appearance and couldn’t make it out of his lone inning, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. Hunley entered the game with just 11 walks on the season.
The moment of the game came with two outs in the fourth inning. Sean Hunley had Silas Ardoin down 1-2 and was a strike away from stranding the go-ahead run on third. Tennessee fans were on its feet and it would have been a massive momentum swing after Ross Kivett’s ejection fired up the fans. Instead, Ardoin singled and Mitchell Daly came home all the way from first base. Upon review, Daly was out but the call on the field was upheld and the next batter singled to bring another run home, extending Texas’ lead to 7-4.
From there, Tennessee never threatened again as Texas reliever Tanner Witt allowed just three baserunners in 5.2 scoreless innings while striking out two. For the first time all season, Tennessee just didn’t have anything left in the tank to pull off a comeback.
So now some big picture thoughts. I’ll never blame any fan for being mad at a bad performance– and the Vols had a bad performance this week— but this season is still without a shadow of a doubt an overwhelming success. No one remembers the 2005 team went 0-2 in Omaha and there’s very little difference between 0-2 and 1-2 in the long term.
What happens with Vitello? It’s hard to say, he said he hasn’t been in any direct contact with LSU but you have to listen when that job comes. I think Tennessee is going to make a serious financial commitment to renovating Lindsey Nelson Stadium and will give Vitello a huge raise. Is that enough to keep him away from one of baseball’s best jobs and one that will likely pay him more than UT? I can’t say but time will tell. I think things move pretty quickly either way.
And finally, thank you all for joining the ride. This season was incredibly special— most importantly because of the team— but also because of you all. Everyone bought into the team and the support you gave Ben and I’s coverage all season is so appreciated. It was a heck of a ride and it’ll be a very tough season to top in terms of covering.
Jordan Beck’s walk off against ETSU, Liam Spence’s home run to open SEC play in Athens, a pair of Evan Russell three home run games against the Tigers and ‘Dores, Max Ferguson’s three-run walk off against Arkansas, Sean Hunley’s three straight strikeouts to strand the tying run on second and clinch the SEC East in Columbia and a Drew Gilbert long ball that still hasn’t landed against Wright State. What a ride.
Quotes
Tony Vitello’s opening statement
“Congrats to Texas. Their guys showed up and wanted to win the game, as did ours. And they were able to get the job done today. More importantly, for me, thank you to Vol fans. The Vol Walk on Saturday is pretty impressive. It's a tradition that's gone on for a long time. But these kids somehow inspired the Vol Walk for baseball to be created. And it's a pretty incredible sight and emotional thing. So, thank you to those people, but also the people that just helped boost up our program into being an Omaha-type program. We hope to be that for multiple years, not just this year. So can't make any promises but obviously we'd like to do better next time. But don't want to have our kids to have any sort of guilt. They're good kids. You've got a guy apologizing and I'm apologizing to them, and I think that's what makes a good team is when you have each other's back and you want to see the guy next to you succeed more than you want it for yourself. And a disappointing day. Probably a lot of social media stuff can make these guys seem like they want to be the bad boys. But they're just a bunch of kids that want to win for each other. And some guys that, off the field, you take that jersey off, they're pretty soft, and they're pretty good kids. But when they throw it on, they do everything they can to win for Tennessee and to win for each other. And I'm honored to have been around them for 50 wins and obviously one loss too many. Thank you.”
Vitello on what he saw on the play at the plate in the fourth inning and how he felt his team responded
“Well, I thought it was a really clean relay. Jordan Beck got over there in a hurry. Got it to our infielders. They make a clean throw. Pav makes a clean tag. So you kind of anticipated the thing being an out. Unfortunately, we've got replay in the dugout, and I think you're better off as a team or coaches not seeing that stuff when they throw it up on the scoreboard or in the corner. But obviously it's one more run. I don't have a scale to weigh how much of a punch in the gut that was to our guys or how much of a detriment that was, other than just what was on the scoreboard. But 5-4 is different than 6-4.”
Vitello on what this team meant to him
“And then as far as what I would remember with these guys, that's a tough thing to point out one deal, other than as a coach you're always trying to learn. And I learned a ton from the group on just how to get things done, how to act, how to respond in certain situations.And then you know -gets choked up- there's a meme for all the people that don't like us, can't see any tears yet, but was locked up in that condo for a long time, man, a long time. And then we had to watch these guys hit BP on the field by themselves, play catch, couldn't do anything. And then you got to be around them for a whole year. And it was a pleasure cruise. As much as you get angry at certain things or you gotta go to COVID testing and stuff like that, it was a good time, it was a really good time to be around those guys. And they created something. So you get handed the baton. You run with it. That's one thing and kudos to all those people that have done that, but these kids literally invented things. And they did it in a really fun fashion.”
Vitello on what he saw from Blade Tidwell and Sean Hunley
“I think Blade was throwing the ball all right. They were on him for whatever reason. I think he was getting frustrated about certain things. And then a third thing was there was just a handful of pitches where he didn't have the conviction that I've seen out of him in the past few weeks. That was just kind of my read. And we felt good about the fact that it was a start to a new game. And the whole goal was again to get somebody out there to hit the mitt. And I think in both situations the big thing was we were one pitch away from getting out of two innings that a lot of damage was done. And we threw it over the plate, which is what got us here. They were able to put a couple of good swings on balls.”
Vitello on if he’s been in contact with LSU and if he’ll be the head coach at Tennessee next year
“No I've not, had zero. And I just made an idiot out of myself at least for all the masculine folks watching, by getting teary-eyed about these kids. That's where my focus has been. Like I said, the social life hasn't been existent for quite some time well before our opening-day game. Part of that is I want to do as good of a job for the school that gave me a chance. And I want to do as good of a job for a group that we thought could go pretty far. And the way the season evolved, like I said, the emotion's certainly not fake, I don't know if it's embarrassing or not, but it's coming from a place that's my number one concern is these guys. And I'll go back to the room and anyone who knows me, it will be bad how much I critique myself and it hurts. So I'm certainly not going to waste energy before a game or any other game having regrets that my mind wasn't right or we weren't prepared the right way to go into whatever game it might be.”
Derkay on what his lasting memory of this team and season will be
“I mean, I love each and every one of these guys. To think when the season got canceled last year, I thought maybe it was all over. And just to kind of get that I guess second chance to do it all over again, especially with this group of guys, was just -- it was unbelievable. Kind of brings a little tear to my eye. I'm trying to do my best right now. But it just meant the world to me. And I will remember this season for the rest of my life. To do something that this program hasn't done in 16 years or -- yeah -- 16 years, to get back here, and ever since I stepped on this campus I said I wanted to change the culture here. And with Luke, Redmond and Will, that was just something that was on our mind. I'd say the lasting thing is we did that and Tennessee baseball is back. With these coaches and players coming back, I know this place is in a really good spot.”
Derkay on what the feeling in the dugout was after the play at home wasn’t overturned
“It was still pretty early in the game. I wouldn't say it was just kind of like, okay, because one thing Coach Vitello has always told us with these reviews, it can go one way or the other. Whatever they tell us, out or safe, that's what we have to roll with. That's what we were going off of at that moment in time. And, yeah, that was it.”
